BG man honored for volunteerism

The Caroline Chamber of Commerce has honored a Bowling Green man with its annual CIVIC Award.

Chamber members gathered for a dinner at a restaurant in Ladysmith Wednesday night and presented the award to Roger Key.

The chamber’s CIVIC Award stands for Community Involvement and Volunteerism in Caroline. The annual honor recognizes a resident of Caroline or employee of a business located in Caroline for volunteer service and promoting activities that benefit the community.

Roger Key

Key, 58, is field engineering supervisor for the co-operative, where he has been employed for 40 years. He has been active in supporting Caroline Young Life, a Christian ministry to teens, and the Rappahannock United Way Day of Caring, a day in which volunteers perform community service work. He is a member of the chamber board of directors as well as the choir of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Port Royal.

Key also is involved in a number of charitable and outreach initiatives of the co-op. He coordinates its Christmas Santa program that helps needy families and has served as chairman of the REC’s Project Big Heart Golf Tournament for numerous years. Key represents the co-op on the Hanover and Essex Chambers of Commerce and serves on a number of REC committees.

In nominating Key, Kim Napier also noted that Key commits his Friday evenings to spending time with three nephews whose father is deceased.

“He was always willing to do whatever we asked him to do,” Tana McDonald of Milford, past president of the chamber and last year’s recipient of the CIVIC Award, said prior to announcing Key as this year’s winner.

Key, was humble in receiving the award. “I just do it because that’s what you’re supposed to do,” he said.

Craig Lewis of Bowling Green, vice president of corporate services and the 2011 recipient of the chamber’s CIVIC Award, was the guest speaker for the event. He shared three ideas related to volunteerism.

“Giving is the highest form of living,” said Lewis. He also shared a New Testament passage emphasizing that leaders should exhibit humility and a willingness to serve others. The third point that Lewis made was, “Helping others is something you can do today.”